WARNING, STRONG LANGUAGE: The fracas at Rock City (Credit: @RobJackson66)
A Welsh punk band refused to finish a gig at Rock City after security staff, fans and band members ended up in a fracas.
The band played at the iconic Nottingham venue on Monday night (October 9) but cut their set short when security guards and fans began wrestling in front of the stage, to the anger of the crowd.
Some members of the band were seen to be getting involved in the altercations before walking off.
Connor Halliday was at the gig and said: “It looked like someone from the crowd had grabbed the guitarist, so the guitarist retaliated.
“Then, the tour manager came down and everything started kicking off.
“The drummer came over and kicked off as well but the security guards were being rough all night anyway.”
Zofia Hare was also there and said: “We stood for about 10 or 15 minutes and the lead singer came over and said security had messed it up and slammed the microphone onto the floor.
“He left and then we waited for a bit longer – then a Neck Deep crew member came out another 10 minutes later to say they’re definitely not coming back.
“No-one from Rock City came out.”
Video: Connor Halliday and Zofia Hare were both at the Neck Deep gig
A statement tweeted by Neck Deep on Tuesday read: “A Neck Deep show – any show for that matter – should be a protected and positive environment, where everyone is safe and free to enjoy music being played.
“The safety of our fans is our number one priority but no-one involved in a show should ever be in fear of harm or injury – be that fans, crew, venue staff, security or the band.
“The events that transpired last night were regretful and deeply unfortunate.
“Things rapidly escalated to a point they should never have gotten to and we believe violence is never a solution.
“Everything that went down could and should have been handled better by all parties.
“We are so very sorry to anyone who was in any way hurt, upset or inconvenienced last night.
“All scheduled tour dates will go ahead as planned and we will be taking extra measures to ensure these events are never again repeated.
“For everyone in attendance last night, we are working on a rescheduled date for you, and we will ensure that your original tickets will remain valid or be reissued.
“Thank you all for reading and for your understanding.”
WARNING, STRONG LANGUAGE: Neck Deep apologised to fans after the cancellation
In a statement, Rock City owners DHP Family said: “We are currently still fully investigating the incident.
“It appears the band took exception to the way Rock City security were handling fans who were crowd surfing into the pit and attempting to get on stage.
“This unfortunately escalated into a physical confrontation between the band and the security staff.
“Having reviewed the CCTV footage and spoken to witnesses, it doesn’t appear the security staff were disproportionate in their response to crowd surfing.
“We take the safety of our customers very seriously and constantly review our crowd management policy.
“Of course, we know how disappointing this has been for the fans who didn’t get to see the band play.”
Nottinghamshire Police confirmed officers ‘attended reports of an assault at Talbot Street’.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Officers attended Rock City and spoke to some of the alleged victims.
“No arrests were made and the investigation is ongoing – a man is due to be interviewed voluntarily in due course.
“If you have any information, you are asked to call Notts Police on 101 quoting incident number 1057 of October 9.”
